Food Court News March 23 – Weekly Briefing (audio)

Pink Slime Continued: Food Court and Food Court News reported last week on the growing controversy over pink slime. This week further fall-out continued with national grocery chains, including Wal-Mart, announced they would no longer carry products with the filler.

GMO Labeling: Connecticut took the first step towards requiring producers to label genetically modified food Wednesday, as a legislative committee overwhelmingly backed a measure promoted as giving consumers more information while avoiding the debate over health concerns.

BART: Researchers are using a chemical which lights up fireflies to develop a device for detecting salmonella, E. coli and listeria in contaminated food.

Canadian Beef Recall: More than seven months’ worth of potentially contaminated frozen beef burgers produced by bankrupt New Food Classics are part of a steadily growing recall across Canada.

Pig Pens: Under pressure from animal rights activists and major buyers, several major pork producers have agreed to phase out gestation crates and switch to more open pens.

Antibiotics in Animal Feed: A federal judge on Thursday ordered U.S. regulators to start proceedings to withdraw approval for the use of common antibiotics in animal feed.